Video: Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee on United States’ International Relations

OXON HILL, Md. –Don’t talk about Monica Lewinsky.

That was former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee‘s message to fellow Republicans as he spoke to reporters at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

Mr. Huckabee, who is entertaining a second presidential bid in 2016, helped stoke speculation about his own ambitions by staging a formal press conference after his speech here to field questions on a range of topics, from the conservatism of younger Republicans to whether the scandals that dogged Bill Clinton‘s presidency are still fair game.

On the latter point, Mr. Huckabee warned fellow Republicans against pursuing those attacks just to tarnish Mr. Clinton’s wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is widely considered the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016. Kentucky Sen.Rand Paul, who is expected to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, has repeatedly brought up those earlier scandals to tarnish the former president as a surrogate for fellow Democrats and cast doubts on Mrs. Clinton’s White House prospects.

“Bill Clinton is not going to be on the ballot in 2016, or 2014,” Mr. Huckabee told about 30 reporters Friday morning after addressing thousands of grassroots activists here at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center. “It’s very possible that his wife will. What she said, what she did, how she served when she was a senator, secretary of state, I think all of that’s all fair play.”

The former Arkansas governor added, “I personally don’t like to see us get into the personal issues of candidates because once you go down that road, it’s hard to put it in reverse and ever go back.”

Mr. Huckabee had plenty of advice for what Republicans should be talking about, particularly as it related to the economy. The former governor reprised a theme from his first presidential bid in 2008, arguing Republicans should focus more on “people who work lifting heavy things, who come home really tired, having sweated through their clothes.” He said the party needs to “communicate to the working-class people of America that the message of economic freedom, security, is one that is going to lift their boat.”

The former Arkansas governor, a favorite of evangelicals and other social-issues conservatives, also echoed the message that Republicans should devote more time highlighting the principles that bind them than fighting over small differences that have roiled the party.

“The differences between us who are conservative is very, very minor compared to the differences of all of us collectively and those on the far left that have been governing this country for the past five years,” Mr. Huckabee said. “What we need to begin to focus on are not small differences but the huge differences.”

Mr. Huckabee was coy about his White House prospects, telling a small gathering of reporters, “It’s not a decision I’ve made, and it’s not one I even plan to make until we get well passed the 2014 election.” But the image of Mr. Huckabee addressing 30 or so reporters who will cover the race sent a clear message that the former governor wants to be a part of the conversation.

Earlier, in his speech at CPAC, Mr. Huckabee criticized the Obama administration’s foreign policy Friday and voiced concerns about the U.S.’s global standing.

“The only time Vladimir Putin shivers is when he has his shirt off in the cold Russian winter,” Mr. Huckabee said. “He’s not the least bit worried about what we think of him.”

The former governor said the U.S. has lost its power to influence global events. “No one trusts us, no one listens to us, no one respects us, and no one fears us,” he said.

He reminded the audience of President Obama’s claim during his 2008 campaign that as president, he would restore the U.S.’s relations with countries around the world. “There is not one country on this planet with whom we have a better relationship today than we did five years ago,” Mr. Huckabee declared.

He knocked the National Security Agency’s surveillance program, and embraced enacting a “fair tax” to abolish the Internal Revenue Service, which he called a “criminal enterprise.” (A fair tax—a key aspect of Mr. Huckabee’s 2012 platform—would eliminate federal income and payroll taxes in favor of a national sales tax.)

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